Viral graphic video of a burnt vehicle due to “sanitizer blast” is false.
Claim 1: “#Beware of keeping liquid #HandSanitizers in your car. The volatile liquid may trigger fire with rising temp. during summer. Recent incident reported at Rohini Flyover, #Delhi. One such incident was reported in #Raipur, few days back.”
Claim 2:Â “#Delhi; Sanitizer Blast in heat at Rohini flyover Delhi. Please, Never keep a Full bottle of Sanitizer in the car. Carry just very little in a bottle, Never leave it in the car and expose in heat.”
A graphic video of a vehicle burning with a man in the vehicle has gone viral with the claims that it was burnt due to sanitizer kept in the vehicle in the summertime and the scorching heat.
The video was tweeted by Nagma Morarji, from Congress, and has been viewed for 4000 times,
#Delhi; Sanitizer Blast in heat at Rohini flyover Delhi. Please, Never keep a Full bottle of Sanitizer in the car. Carry just very little in a bottle, Never leave it in the car and expose in heat. #staysafe #CoronaUpdatesInIndia #COVID19India be careful pic.twitter.com/GQX0T2P8xf
— Nagma (@nagma_morarji) May 26, 2020
This particular post has been shared for over 2200 times and viewed for over 91,200 times.
This post has been shared over 1200 times and viewed for over 31,000 times.
The video has been shared widely over Twitter
Truth
After doing a Google Reverse Image Search of the screenshots acquired from the video, we found certain news reports.
According to a news report by Zee News that the incident took place on Thursday (May 21) at a flyover in Delhi’s Mangolpuri area. The driver of the van, a 50-year-old man was killed in the accident.
According to the report, “The van was loaded with plastic and the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained but a leak from the CNG tank is suspected.”
The Times Of India, also reported the news, reportedly the vehicle also had a CNG kit, along with plastic.
In a fact-check done by USA Today, it was proven that Alcohol-based hand sanitizers will not spark car fires.
They ruled that the claim is false, saying, “We rate the claim that alcohol-based hand sanitizer stored in hot cars can ignite FALSE because it is not supported by our research. Experts say alcohol-based hand sanitizer is flammable, but can only ignite if a flame is introduced. Although leaving small amounts of alcohol-based hand sanitizer in your car does not pose a significant fire risk, it should not be kept in vehicles because high temperatures can lower its disinfectant ability.”
Hence, it is established that the incident took place in Mangolpuri, Delhi. The van was filled with plastic material and had a CNG kit and the cause of the fire is yet to established.
The viral claims that there was a “sanitizer blast” in the vehicle or that the vehicle caught fire because of sanitizer being kept in the vehicle in the summer heat are misleading and false. It is to be noted that the cause of the fire is yet to be established, and that alcohol-based sanitizer cannot catch fire unless a flame is introduced, keeping it in vehicles can lower its disinfectant ability due to high temperature.Â
